Field emission devices are known in the art. Such prior art devices are constructed in a vertical profile by means of complex deposition, etching, and evaporative metalization processes. Since the device elements are overlayed, the inter-element capacitances become significant and affect the performance of the device.
Typically, such prior art devices include a cathode, a gate to aid in controlling the emissions of the cathode, and an anode. Provision of only these three electrodes will not allow the resultant device to satisfactorily meet certain application needs.
There therefore exists a need for a field emission device that can be constructed in a simpler manner, that minimizes inter-element capacitance, and that meets applications needs not currently satisfied.